Drum for dyeing, etc.



S. BAILEY, JR

DRUM FOR DYEING, ETC

A ril 25, 1933.

Filed March 24, 1930 Patented Apr. 25, 1933 PATENT OFFICE SIDNEY BAILEY, JR., OF ABINGTON, PENNSYLVANIA DRUM FOR IDYEING, ETC.

Application filed March'24, 1930. Serial No. 438,548.

. My said invention relates to an improvement in drums applicable to machines such as those used in washing, dyeing and bleaching, and other analogous operations, in which machines there is a rotary drum either partially or wholly submerged in hot water :or other liquor during the operation of the machine. The outer casing of the machine has one or more ports through which material may be placed in the drum, which drum also has one or more ports provided with gates that must be held in closed position during the operation of the machine, inwhich the drum is turned to agitate the contained material relatively. to the water or dye liquor or other fluid. For holding the gates shut latches are provided which must be opened in order to afford access to the interior of the drum. These latches are naturally heated to the temperature of the liquor during the operation of the machine and as this is commonly a relatively high temperature it is an awkward matter for the operatives to release the latches and open the gates (or to close the gates), the latches being made of metal which transmits its heat readily to the human hand. Various more or less unsatisfactory expedientshave been resorted to, as by protecting the hands by wrapping a cloth about them, by pouring cold water on the latches etc., but these expedients have been wasteful of time and otherwise undesirable. It should be noted also that the inconvenience of manipulating the hot latches shortens the life of the machine, as naturally the operators slamthe gates open and slam them shut instead of handling them gently as they would be like ly to do if the operation could be carried on without discomfort. It is a primary object of my invention to provide means whereby the latches and gates of the drum can be handled easily and without discomfort,

Another object of the invention is to pro-.

ide a rotary drum with means which shall 5 increase the circulation of the liquor in the casing and also improve the efficiency of the machine, whether for dyeing, for bleaching, for washing or for some other purpose.

Referring to the drawing, which is made a part of thi s application and. in which similar reference characters indicate similar parts: Fig. 1 1S a front elevatlon of a machine of the general character referred to, with parts broken away and other parts omitted for 65 convenience of illustration,

Fig. 2, a vertical transverse section of the rotary drum,

Fig. 3, a detail plan of a latch and parts adjacent thereto,

Fig. 4, a side elevation of the latch, partly in section, and

Fig. 5, a detail of a gate used in the machine. i

In the drawing reference character indicates an outer casing of a machine for any of the uses above referred to, said casing having end members 11, and an upper closure 12 slidably mounted between the end members and extending over the length of the casing to close a port therein. A motor 13 is mounted on a bracket 1d fixed to one of the end membore 11 and this motor drives an inner drum throgh su)itable gearing including a pinion 16 ig. 2 1

The inner drum includes end members 17, one ofwhich is shown in Fig. 1 as being provided with a disk 18 having a boss 19 journalled in a suitable bearing 20 on the fixed frame of the machine. A similar construction (not shown) is provided at the opposite end of the drum. The periphery of the drum comprises perforated sections 21 fixed to the end members 17 and intermediate gates 22 which are also perforated and which are mounted for circumferential sliding movable relative to the fixed parts of the drum.

In a preferred form the gates are provided With vanes 22 extending diagonally thereof. These vanes may extend substantially from one corner of the gate to the diagonally opposite corner or for a greater or less distance on the gate. It will be evident that, due to their form and location, they will cause such an agitation in the liquor between the drum and the outer casing as greatly to increase the circulation of the liquor in the casing and the drum thereby increasing its eiiiciency in any of the operations hereinbefore alluded to. In'their closed position the gates 22 abut against strips 23 extending lengthwise of the drum, such strips providing reinforcing members for the drum and movement limiting abutments for the gates.

In the form of the invention here illustrated each gate is provided with opposed latches for holding it in closed position. These latches comprise a handle portion 24 which is bowed upward away from the gate and also have a portion 25 mounted for sliding movement in a retainer 26. The end of the latch portion 25 is adapted to slide underneath a catch 27 secured to the adjacent side member of the drum. At opposite end the latch is bent upward as indicated at 29 so as to provide a vertical face against which a spring 30 abuts. The spring is held in place by any suitable means such as a guide pin 31 fixed to a bracket 32, and the spring may be covered in whole or in part by a sheath (not shown).

To do away with the inconveniences hereinbefore referred to I have encased the bowed portion of the handle in a sheath 33 of nonheat-conducting or heat-insulating material of suitable character, such as rubber which may or may not have asbestos or other suitable non-conducting material incorporated therewith. Preferably the sheath extends over all parts of the latch that are likely to contact with the hand of the operator. As a desirable feature I may form one or more extensions 34 on the sheath in position to extend between the fingers of the user for greater convenience in gripping and manipulating the latch. It will be understood that these extensions may consist merely of de pressions at the under side of the handle providing slight elevations between which the fingers engage. I may also provide holes 35 extending through the sheath or the latch or both for admission of air to the parts above the liquor in case the gate 12 is open, thereby enabling the parts to cool off more rapidly. The importance of rapid cooling is illustrated by the fact that some dyers find it necessary to have a .ruling that any one leaving a gate open will be discharged and that actually a great many are discharged for that reason alone.

It will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made in my device without departing from the spirit of my invention and therefore I do not limit myself to what is shown in the drawing and described in the specification but only as indicated in the appended claims.

Having thus fully described my said invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a machine having a container for hot liquor, a rotary drum partially submerged in said hot liquor, said drum having an opening and a circumferentially slidable closure for said opening, the combination of an axially slidable latch on said closure for engaging a fixed catch on said drum, said latch having both ends close to the drum and having a middle portion spaced from the drum to provide a handle, a heat insulating covering for the handle portion extending from end to end of said bowed portion and close to the drum at both ends, said covering being perforated to facilitate radiation of heat from the metal core.

2. In a machine having a container for hot liquor, a rotary drum partially submerged in said hot liquor, said drum having an opening and a circumferentially slidable closure for said opening, the combination of an axially slidable latch on said closure for engaging a fixed catch on said drum, said latch having both ends close to the drum and having a middle portion spaced from the drum to provide a handle, a heat insulating covering for the handle portion extending from end to end of said bowed portion and close to the drum at both ends, and an insulated downward projection midway of the handle to engage between the fingers of the user.

3. In a machine having a container for hot liquor, a rotary drum partially submerged in said hot liquor, said drum having an open ing and a circumferentially slidable closure for said opening, the combination of an axially slidable latch on said closure for engaging a fixed catch on said drum, an outwardly bowed portion on said latch providing a handle, a heat-insulating covering for said handle, and an inwardly projecting portion of heat-insulating material engaging between the fingers of the user, said covering having apertures therethrough to facilitate cooling of the handle.

l. In a machine having a container for hot liquor, a rotary drum partially sub merged in said hot liquor, said drum having an opening and a circumferentially slidable closure for said opening, the combination of an axially slidable latch on said closure for engaging a fixed catch on said drum, an outwardly bowed portion on said latch providing a handle, a heatinsulating covering for said handle, and an inwardly projecting portion of heat-insulating material engaging between the fingers of the user.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature.

SIDNEY BAILEY, JR. 

